Chapter 1 "Dead... dead?"

"Dead... dead?" Professor Nan's eyes widened, a jolt of shock running through him, unable to believe his ears.

Yu Cheng nodded and said, "That's right, Li Tianran... is indeed dead."

"How did he die?" Professor Nan asked, his voice trembling.

Yu Cheng raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, and then said as if it were very casual, "He probably died in a sea beast attack."

Professor Nan seized on the loophole in Yu Cheng's words and hurriedly asked, "Probably?"

Yu Cheng lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke: "What I mean by 'probably' is... although I didn't see his body, there is no record of his relocation in the shelter, and his original residence was flattened by a sea beast attack."

"Taking all these factors into account, I infer that he is dead."

In the current environment, ordinary people who don't enter the shelters have a 99% chance of dying in such harsh conditions!

Moreover, Li Tianran's residence was also attacked by sea beasts.

"Do you remember the night of the sea beast attack? A Sea Beast King attacked Temporary Shelter No. 08. Our people didn't find that Beast King later. After a long investigation, we confirmed the escape route of that Beast King was near the Rennan Town farm where Li Tianran lived."

"A large number of buildings collapsed there, and Li Tianran's home... was also attacked and reduced to ruins."

"At that time, a full twenty days had passed since the sea beast attack. No one could survive under the ruins for so long, so the patrol team did not excavate the ruins. This is also the reason why I said just now... that I didn't see Li Tianran's body."

After hearing Yu Cheng's words, Professor Nan was stunned for a long time.

He had spent a lot of effort to retrieve the files alone, and racked his brains to analyze the case in the files. The final conclusion he came to was... if the parents of those victims were not the murderers who attacked Li and Guo, then the person in the files most likely to be the attacker was Li Tianran!

But now, Yu Cheng said that Li Tianran had died long ago.

The clue... was broken.

"According to this statement..." Professor Nan's eyes revealed a sharp light: "The most important thing is the body! If Li Tianran's body can be found in the ruins, then it can prove that my guess is wrong! If it can't be found, then it means my guess might be right!"

"Yes! The body! It's the body!"

Professor Nan's emotions became excited again. He had found the key to the problem, which was Li Tianran's body!

He hastily put the files away, and then said goodbye to Yu Cheng, "Vice Commander Yu, I won't disturb you! Farewell!"

Professor Nan moved quickly, not staying with Yu Cheng for a second longer, and stood up to walk out.

Yu Cheng looked at Professor Nan, opened his mouth, smiled and said, "Goodbye."

The door closed with a snap.

Yu Cheng stood up, stretched, and sighed, "Goodbye then!"

...

Leaving Yu Cheng's temporary residence, Professor Nan took a deep breath of the cool air.

He knew what he had to do next. He had to leave the shelter and go to the ruins of Li Tianran's former residence to search for it. He had to find Li Tianran's remains!

This idea was dangerous and impulsive.

But at this time, a flame seemed to be burning in Professor Nan's heart, making him restless and unable to calm down no matter what.

This feeling was like a mystery game. When you play to the last level and have clues to crack the final mechanism, can you still bear to wait a few days before solving it?

Couldn't wait!

Couldn't wait for a moment!

"Rennan Town... farm." Professor Nan remembered some important information that Yu Cheng had mentioned just now. He recalled that when he and Miao Yu had just arrived in Nancheng, they had patrolled around the towns surrounding Nancheng.

He remembered where Rennan Town was, and he also remembered that he had pointed to a farm and said, "If I were a Beast King, would I bother to drill all the way here, jump out and insist on destroying this broken farm?"

"Could it really be such a coincidence?" Professor Nan muttered to himself. He thought of his previous few "evil predictions" and was silent for a moment. "Perhaps it really will be such a coincidence."

Professor Nan raised his hand and glanced at his watch. The time was three in the morning, and there were still at least five hours before dawn.

If he wanted to leave the shelter, he needed transportation and a gun to ensure his safety.

He thought of Miao Yu, but when he came to Miao Yu's temporary residence, he found that Miao Yu was not there at all, and when he called Miao Yu's phone, the other party did not answer.

Thinking of the news Yu Cheng had mentioned earlier that the beast tide was invading again, Professor Nan guessed that Miao Yu might be directing the construction of the shelter's walls late at night.

"Forget it, I found the files myself, and I can find the body myself..." Professor Nan smiled wryly, put the phone in his coat, and strode towards the car camp in the distance.

He was going to borrow a military vehicle.

However, when he arrived at the car camp and explained his intention to the duty squad leader, he was rejected.

"Military vehicles cannot be lent out casually, and you no longer have a position, let alone the qualifications to enter the military camp. Please leave!" The duty squad leader said indifferently, turning Professor Nan away with an impersonal coldness.

"..." Professor Nan was speechless at the other party's retort. After a long silence, he turned and left.

Just then, a man with the rank of captain walked in. After seeing Professor Nan and the squad leader, he asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"

"Company Commander, he wants to borrow a military vehicle!" The squad leader said calmly.

The company commander looked Professor Nan up and down, and then said calmly, "Drive out the military vehicle with license plate 230."

"Company Commander, he no longer has..." The squad leader was obviously a little surprised, and said haltingly.

"I told you to go, so go!" The company commander frowned and scolded.

The squad leader was scolded and drove away dejectedly.

Soon, the military vehicle stopped in front of Professor Nan, and the company commander said to Professor Nan in a gentle manner, "There is a Type 68 pistol and a pass in the hand扣 (shou kou - glove compartment) of the co-pilot. Please be careful!"

Professor Nan was stunned for a moment. The other party's attitude was very abnormal!

"Did... Commander Yu send you?" Professor Nan asked tentatively.

"Hehe." The company commander just smiled and did not answer Professor Nan's question.

Professor Nan was silent for a moment, took the car key from the company commander, and turned to walk towards the military vehicle.

He heard the company commander and the squad leader talking softly behind him.

"Are you stupid? Why are you stopping him? He is a close aide to the Commander-in-Chief. Although he has been demoted now, he might be promoted again sometime. Then you..."

Listening to the discussion behind him, Professor Nan showed a wry smile. The last trace of doubt in his heart was dispelled. He opened the car door and sat in, driving straight out of the shelter.